Possible role of traditional medicinal plant Neem (Azadirachta indica) for the management of COVID-19 infection

Abstract

Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) originated from Wuhan, China. Afterwards COVID-19 outbreak was declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by World Health Organization (WHO). Now around two and half million peoples are suffering and several thousands are dead worldwide due to the highly infectious and deadly nature of the virus. Unfortunately, no standard medicine or vaccine is available to treat the disease. The major clinical symptoms for COVID-19 are fever, chills, cough, fatigue, respiratory symptoms, diarrhoea and shortness of breath. Clinical symptom based Indian traditional medicinal practices like Ayurveda and Siddha could be beneficial to treat and prevent the infection. Indian origin traditional medicinal plant Neem (Azadirachta indica) has been reported to have anti-viral potential against bovine herpes virus type-1, poliovirus type 1, duck plague virus, dengue virus type-2, newcastle disease virus, infectious bursal disease virus, avian influenza virus and group B coxsackievirus. Neem is widely used as Ayurvedic medicine to treat fever, cough, asthma and diarrhea which are also reported as the common clinical symptoms for COVID-19. Neem is recorded to enhance both humoral and cell mediated immune response during viral infection. Multidimensional anti-viral therapeutic potentials of Neem insist to hypothesize its probable application to control COVID-19 along with modern medicinal practices. But, series of experimental database and translational research are required to establish the hypothesis.